The Heavenly Coach

How does a human being relate to the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is like a coach to us. What does a coach do?

If the coach is a baseball coach, he teaches you how to swing that bat and hit the ball. He teaches you how to run from base to base or how to use your glove to catch the ball. Your coach says, "Hold the bat at the base with your hands wrapped around it like this, and when you see that ball coming, swing as hard as you can and hit that ball as far as you can!"

If the coach is an acting coach, then that person teaches you how to become an actor. He will coach you on how to become more convincing, more dramatic and more comical, and even teach you how to cry when tears are necessary for a certain scene.

If the coach is a vocal coach, that person will teach you how to sing, to make your breath last longer, to push from your stomach and make that sound stronger, to sing on key, not flat or sharp, and to sing in a way that really represents the emotional content of the music. A vocal coach will stop you right in the middle of a song to correct you, instruct you and then tell you to go for it again.

A coach teaches, advises, corrects, instructs, trains, tutors, guides, directs and prepares you for your upcoming assignment. If you are new at what you are doing, the coaching may include a little coaxing as you develop your confidence.

A coach will encourage you as he shows you what you did wrong the last time by telling you how to do it right the next time. "Do it a little different here; press a little harder there; say it a bit louder or softer; move this way; hold the bat that way; don't try so hard here; try harder there" and so on.

A coach isn't there to hit the ball for you, sing that note for you or play the scene for you. He's there to coach you so that you can hit the ball, sing the note and perform as you should.

Like an apprentice learning a new job, if you listen carefully, the Holy Spirit will direct and guide you. He'll show you what's needed. He'll open your eyes, impress your mind with supernatural direction, bring you up by the hand, develop, foster, improve and "break you in" on the things of God and life.

This is why 1 John 2:25 says, "But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things."

This verse is not encouraging us to reject the instruction of good leaders but is joyfully telling us that if we do not have a leader, pastor or friend to whom we can turn for instruction, we are not left in ignorance. The Holy Spirit will teach us!

We must learn to take the Holy Spirit's advice and follow Him implicitly, taking each of our cues from Him. He must become our heavenly coach, and we must learn to accept His leadership and be willing to yield and concede to His divine guidance with no objections.

The Spirit of TruthYou may be thinking, "But wait a minute! Following the direction of the Holy Spirit is brand new for me. This sounds a little scary to entrust myself completely to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. I can't even see Him, let alone fully surrender myself to His leadership. What is my guarantee that the Holy Spirit will not mislead and misguide me?"

This is why Jesus called the Holy Spirit "the Spirit of truth" three times (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13). In other words, He was saying, "You can trust the leadership of the Holy Spirit! He has not been sent to lead you down the wrong path, to make a wrong decision or to give you something devilish and evil. He is the Spirit of truth."

You can be sure when He puts a thought in your heart to do something, it is right. When He puts an idea in your mind, it is a right idea. When He nudges your heart to do this or that, it is because He sees and knows something you do not know and, thus, He is trying to guide and direct you. He is always the Spirit of truth, and as the Spirit of truth, you can bank on the fact that He will never mislead you.

Jesus taught for three entire chapters—John 14, 15 and 16—about the Holy Spirit in order to alleviate the disciples' fears about trusting Him. The bottom line is this: If we are going to move beyond our fear of the unknown and experience real, supernatural Christian living, then we must come to a place of surrender to the Holy Spirit. In this act of surrender, we give permission to Him to be our heavenly coach.

The truth of the matter is, He is always trying to coach and direct us, even when we aren't listening. He is always at our side, speaking, directing, encouraging and trying to help us make the correct decisions and choices in life. Whether we listen to Him or not, He is there because that is the job assignment He has received from God the Father.

Whether or not we benefit from this heavenly coach depends on whether or not we listen to Him and follow His advice.

A baseball coach can't do an athlete any good unless the athlete chooses to follow his instructions. An acting coach can talk until he is blue in the face, and it won't accomplish anything unless the actor is willing to listen and carry out the coach's direction. A vocal coach can see potential in a person's voice and try to coach that singer into singing better. However, if the student refuses to listen and chooses to sing as he or she desires, the coach can't produce the best results.

Likewise, we must give the Holy Spirit ultimate authority in our lives, learn to trust His leadership and do what He instructs us to do. He is a Comforter sent by God to help us. For Him to help us, it requires our ears, our hearts, our trust and our obedience. Anything short of this will produce inferior results, results far short of the supernatural life you really desire: He is there to help you, so let Him help you.

Source: The Dynamic Duo by Rick Renner Excerpt permission granted by Creation House

Author Biography

Rick and Denise met while they were each on an individual quest to wholeheartedly follow Godâ€™s plan for their lives. Rick was a college student, growing in his teaching ministry. Denise was a talented vocalist. She chose not to pursue a course that held the prospect of performing with the Metropolitan Opera so that she could instead pursue a relationship with Rick and fulfill her heartâ€™s desire to enter full-time ministry.Read more...

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